Brake-beam.



No. 707,658. Patented-Aug. 26, I902.

6. VANDERBILT.

BRAKE BEAM.

(Application filed Mar. 14, 1902.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES: INVENTOR m/W/MMZ/ 4;, ATTORNEYfl STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BRAKE- BEAM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 707,658, dated August 26, 1902.

Application filed March 14, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, CORNELIUS VANDERBILT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city and State of New York, (having a post-office address at 100 Broadway, in the borough of Manhattan, in said city, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake- Beams, of which the following is a full and true description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, showing one form of my invention.

The object of this invention is the production of a brake-beam, especially intended for use with freight-cars, of great strength and simplicity and adapted to be quickly and economically manufactured.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown a brake-beam comprising a flanged metallic beam of ordinary commercial form and suitably-formed brake-shoe heads and a lever-bracket or fulcrum-block secured to said beam. The beam may be formed by rolling in the usual way, and the bracket and brake-shoe heads may be castings. The use of these forms will result in a considerable saving of time and cost as compared with brake-beams made up of tubes, beams, bars, rods,spacingpieces,&c.,and with brake-beams made up of pressed steel or other special metal work. My present im provements may, however, be incorporated in other forms of brake-beams, wholly or partly of metal.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side View of my new brake-beam. Fig. 2 is a front View. Fig. 3 is an end view, and Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the lever-bracket.

While I may employ any suitable form of metallic beam in producing my new brakebeam, yet I prefer for economic reasons and because or the great strength thereof to use a rolled or otherwise-formed I-beam, the web and flanges preferably being integral. Said beam may be provided with reduced ends by cutting the beam diagonally at its ends and in opposite directions, as described by me in United States Patent No. 684,625, dated October 15, 1901, whereby a beam having an I- shaped body and T-shaped ends is produced. A flanged beam of the construction shown in the accompanying drawings is practically of uniform strength throughout its length when in use and forms a statically-constructed Serial No. 98,146. (No model.)

brake-beam. Other forms of flanged beams may be used; but I prefer a beam having the web to which the brake-shoe heads are socured longer than the edge flange to which the lever-bracket is fitted.

A indicates the Web of the beam, and I3 13 indicate the reduced ends.

0 0 indicate the flanges of the beam.

D D indicate the brake-shoe heads, which may be of any desired configuration. Preferably, however, they will have rearwardlyextending clamping-jaws E, which closely fit the webs of the reduced ends B. For the purpose of securing the brake-shoe heads to the beam I prefer to employ short rivets or bolts F, which pass through openings in the jaws E and in the web of the beam.

G indicates an opening in the upper part of the brake-shoe head for receiving the hangerrod or hanger-link.

A lever-bracket is fitted to the brake-beam, preferably midway of its length. While any suitable form of bracket, especially one adapted to closely fit the body of the flanged beam, may be employed, I prefer to use the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inasmuch as this may be readily cast or otherwise formed or finished. Said form consists of a body II, provided with forwardlyextending diagonally-disposed jaws I I for connection with the brake-lever and with rearwardlyextending clamping jaws J J. The space between the jaws J and J constitutes a T-shaped opening L, running entirely through the lever-bracket, and the interior of which preferably closely conforms to the exterior of the web and flanges of one edge of the I-shaped body.

In order to secure the lever-bracket to the body, I prefer to employ a device, as a rivet K, which passes through openings in the jaws J J and through an opening in the web A of the beam. To lit the bracket to the beam, the jaws of the former may first be fitted upon the web of either reduced end B and the bracket slipped along the beam until the openings in the bracket-jaws J J and in the Web register. The form of beam having the front flange shorter than the rear flange is not only of uniform strength when in use, but readily permits the removal of the lever-bracket when the same closely conforms to the front flange without removal or disturbance of the brakeshoe heads. For this purpose the bracketmay be slid toward either end of the illustrated beam and removed from the end of the front flange without interference by the brake-shoe heads, which are spaced away sufliciently from the ends of the front flange for this purpose. The construction is also advantageous in that cinders, water, or ice cannot accumulate upon the upper face of the brake-beam, but will fall from the reduced ends.

Myimproved brake-beam maybe combined with any of the usual forms of brake-levers, hangers, orsupports.

While I have herein shown and described one preferred embodiment of my invention, yet I do not desire to be understood as being confined thereto. Obviously modifications thereof within my invention will readily suggest themselves to skilled persons.

' I claim 1. In a brake-beam, a beam having an I- shaped body and integral T-shaped ends, brake-shoe heads fitted upon the webs of the ends, and a lever-bracket provided with a T- shaped opening therethrough whereby the bracket is fitted upon the web and flanges of one end of the body, and fastening means passing through the bracket and through the beam, substantially as described.

2. In a brake-beam, a beam having an I- shaped body and integral T-shaped ends, brake-shoe heads fitted upon the ends, and a lever-bracket provided with an opening therethrough whereby the bracket is fitted upon the body, and means for securing the bracket to the beam, substantially as described.

3. In a brake-beam, a flanged beam, brakeshoe heads secured to the ends of said beam, and a lever-bracket closely fitting the flange of the beam, a portion of the beam being cut away to permit the removal of the leverbracket, substantially as described.

4.. In a brake-beam, a flanged beam, brakeshoe heads secured to the ends of said beam, and a lever-bracket closely fitting the flange of the beam, a portion of the said flange being cut away to permit the removal of the lever-bracket, substantially as described.

5. In a brake-beam, a flanged beam having the flange at one end shorter than the web of the beam, a lever-bracket closely fitting the said flange, and brake-shoe heads fitted to the portions of the Web beyond the flange extremities and spaced away from said extremities to permit the removal of the lever-bracket, substantially as described.

6. Ina brake-beam, aflanged beam, aleverbracket secured to said beam and brake-shoe heads fitted to the web of the beam and extending beyond the flange extremities, said heads being spaced away from said extremities to permit the removal of the lever-bracket, substantially as described.

CORNELIUS VANDERBILT.

Witnesses:

EDWIN O. FARLOW, WILLIAM K. AUCHINCLOSS. 

